House music and techno are often confused, making the differences hard to distinguish without sounding like a dance music purist.
This article will help you distinguish between these two dance genres by outlining some key differences. This will make it easier for you to identify and enjoy both popular dance styles.
Origins
When discussing electronic music, it can be easy to become mired in semantics. House and techno are two styles with many subgenres that often blur together; therefore it is crucial that both novice and seasoned listeners understand all of the differences that differentiate one from the other. Whether a music connoisseur, it is imperative that they know all the information which goes into identifying these two genres from one another.
Techno music hails from Detroit and is recognized for its dark, precise and powerful beat elements that emanate from its founding there. Typically instrumental, techno first made waves at warehouse parties but has since become a favorite dance style among DJs and house music listeners alike.
House music hails from Chicago and was born from disco’s ashes. Early pioneers, like Larry Heard and Marshall Jefferson, utilized flutes and new age music to add sophistication to their sound and create unforgettable atmospheres that endured for years afterward. Additionally, this was when progressive house began its evolution into its current forms.
House and techno music differ primarily in their musical construction: house typically uses a 4/4 rhythm, while techno typically starts at 120-130 beats per minute and often exceeds 135 beats per minute. A house track’s groove comes from drums and bass instruments with hi-hats positioned on offbeats and compressed snare hitting on two and four beats; vocal samples may also be added for an added vocal layering effect.
At this point, a variety of house subgenres began to form, from garage to minimal and electro. At this point, the line between tech house and minimalism became less clear-cut; though many tracks could fall into either category; nevertheless it was generally accepted that tech house had its own distinctive sound that set it apart from both minimalism and electro. Tech house typically featured chunkier, funkier tracks influenced by its original originators’ authentic funkiness and innovative sonic science from Matthew Herbert among others.
Characteristics
Electronic music first emerged during the early 1900s with technology like phonograph allowing experimentation with sound. This gave rise to electric instruments like theremin and later Hammond organ, Ondes Martenot and Trautonium that enabled musicians to experiment and create new styles and genres. By the late 1960s, prominent rock musicians started incorporating electronic devices into their songs leading to new genres like psychedelic music and electronica being born.
House and techno music have quickly become two of the most beloved electronic genres today. Both styles share many features in common, such as using drum machines and synthesizers to produce fast tempos with high energy; both genres also share common origins and musical influences; however, each has a distinctive sound which sets it apart from others.
House and techno are both heavily influenced by disco, funk and soul, but each have distinct features that distinguish them. House music often takes inspiration from sampling old disco tracks for its more upbeat feel while using drum machines to produce fast tempo and high energy beats. Techno music hails from Detroit with dark tones often featuring precise beat elements and deeper basslines – setting itself apart from house by having unique characteristics of its own.
Subgenres that have emerged within these genres include electro, trance, glitch, deep house and acid techno. Though their styles and sounds differ significantly, all share common characteristics like fast tempos with big beats that place an emphasis on rhythm.
House and techno music are distinguished by the distinctive beats per minute (bpm) of their tracks. While there may be exceptions, most house tracks tend to fall between 120-135bpm while most techno tracks feature between 115-135. Please keep in mind these guidelines are only meant as general guides; classification may prove challenging at times due to subjective emotions which cannot always be described verbally.
Sub-genres
House vs techno can be confusing at first, as other subgenres of electronic music exist beyond house and techno. Subgenres like Drum and Bass, Dubstep, Trance and Progressive House have gained prominence over time – each from different origins with unique musical signatures.
Tech House is a hybrid between house and techno music genres that mixes dark elements from techno with heavy synths and more emotional textures from house. Additionally, its bpm range maintains that of house. Trance music on the other hand tends to have more of a psychedelic influence and is usually associated with rave culture; typically featuring repetitive hooks that build and drop over and over to induce an intoxicated state in listeners.
House is one of the oldest dance music genres and has evolved through numerous incarnations over time. Influenced by disco, house is usually melodic yet upbeat in nature with a beat per minute (BPM) between 120 to 130.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s warehouse clubs began appearing across America and Europe. Here DJs could explore new sounds resulting in house. Around this same time came Roland TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines becoming widely used; these enabled DJs to create their own tracks without needing expensive studio setup.
Glitch Hop, another subgenre of house music that has recently grown increasingly popular, combines a signature house drum pattern with impressive bass design skills, while employing distorted vocals and chord extensions from jazz music for its harmonic extensions. Furthermore, its rhythm and tribal percussion gives Glitch Hop its distinct sound; some refer to it as ‘reggaeton meets techno”.
Future Bass is one of the more recent additions to electronic music genre, blending elements of dubstep, trap, footwork and footwork with arpeggio chords and vocoders from trance trance trance and featuring warm bounce, deep basslines and risers leading up to its drop. It can range between 120-160bpm.
Audience
At its core, dance music straddles both categories, making this distinction rather academic. Some of Detroit’s finest techno, such as that of Theo Parrish from Detroit in the eighties was minimal and grooved at around 115 beats per minute with ample synth basslines; these characteristics would define it as house. On the other hand, much early nineties pop-sounding techno by 2 Unlimited could easily qualify as house tracks as well.
House and techno are often defined by personal emotional responses; thus the distinction can often come down to personal choice or intuition. Furthermore, subgenres further complicate matters: deep house is known for its soulful soundscapes while tech house provides more high-energy grooves; finally trance music boasts its signature ethereal soundscapes and hypnotic rhythms.
Electronic Dance Music (EDM) encompasses a diverse array of sounds that now form its core. Instead of categorizing house and techno separately, this term encompasses everything from beatless ambient to 200 BPM hardcore; most commonly seen among these styles is drum and bass, dubstep and trance as examples of EDM genres.
At an EDM event, most attendees care less about genre-specific music and are simply happy to sing along to catchy choruses while dancing the night away under vibrant lighting effects. People go there for the experience and meeting like-minded individuals.
Attributed in large part to this development is the proliferation of festivals of this magnitude, such as LA Memorial Coliseum with more than 200,000 attendees over two days – some for professional DJ performances and the like, while others come simply for food and drink offerings; research indicates that new fans of genre are far more knowledgeable about its history than older generations who grew up listening to rock, pop or jazz music.